


Undone by you

by Snow_Falls



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Begrudging allies to lovers, Canon-Typical Violence, Elf Laurent, Elf/Human Relationship(s), Elves, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Sexual Content, and that's canon babeyyyy, basically they fight a monster together and grow to like each other, you catch feelings faster when fighting together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:14:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snow_Falls/pseuds/Snow_Falls
Summary: 'Laurent walked over to him, and stopped just in front of Damen. Damen felt the hair on his arms rise, as if the temperature had suddenly dropped. “I -- I don’t know why I ran.” Laurent said.“It’s understandable,” Damen said, gently.Bright blue eyes looked directly at him. “You came for me.”Damen felt a faint prickle at the back of his neck, but he hardly noticed it, “You knew I would.”“Did I?” He said, and then reached out to touch Damen’s arm. “Thank you.”Laurent’s gaze was intense, Damen was trapped in it, and before he realized it, Damen was leaning down. He felt the warmth of Laurent’s hand on his arm seep into his body. Despite the drop in temperature, Damen was burning hot, feverish, his head swam.'-Or, when Damen saves the life of an elf on his way to back to reclaim his throne, he finds himself stuck with a companion he learns to like far more than he thought he would.
Relationships: Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 76
Collections: Captive Prince Reverse Bang 2019





	Undone by you

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever Captive Prince fic, I hope you enjoy!

The forest was peaceful. On that late spring day the sun was shining through the trees, birds sang, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There was a profound sense of calm over the forest that came with the lack of human interference, it would be different if it were closer to human habitation, but this forest hardly ever saw any people in it, even the elven kind did not disturb it. It was for this reason, that even though everything seemed idyllic, Damen was wary. That and the fact that he was accompanied by a sullen and reluctant elf. 

After much pestering on Damen’s part, because he didn’t want to keep calling him “Hey you,” the elf had finally dained to give Damen something to call him by, “Laurent,” he had said, and then no more. Damen doubted it was his actual name, or at least not all of it, names were highly personal, and not something you just gave away to strangers, but it was something to call him at least. 

Damen resisted the urge to turn his head and look back at Laurent who trailed two paces behind him. When they had first entered the forest Laurent had wanted to lead, but Damen had refused, and they hadn’t argued so much as stared each other down, Laruent seemed to have only given in as an excuse to stop interacting with Damen. Laurent was very typically a member of his own kind, elves were notoriously arrogant and viewed themselves as superior to humans, but it seemed Laurent was willing to endure following Damen’s lead as a lesser of two evils. Damen had a feeling Laurent saw himself as already brought low, and there wasn’t much farther he could fall anyway, and so he might as well do this too. 

They were making good time on their way to Ios, but Damen still wished they had a couple of horses. He had thought about detouring to a nearby village and commandeering some, but it wasn’t worth the risk. Damen had no doubt that Laurent would be able to ride, elves were known for their impeccable horsemanship, and the sooner they got to Ios, the sooner Laurent would let himself leave Damen’s side. 

For now they traveled in, if not in comfortable at least a sort of resigned, silence. Which was better than bickering, probably. 

They stopped twice a day for meals, both of them carrying what they could in packs stocked with dried meat, and hard bread. Damen would usually forge for fruits and vegetables and dutifully shared what he found with Laurent, who seemed to accept only because it appeared to make sense to him that Damen do this for him. Damen tried to ignore this attitude, it was probably better that Laurent didn’t feel like this meant he owed Damen even more than he already did. 

Damen usually wasn’t the sort of person to count his chickens before they hatched, but when they were a day out from finally leaving the forest, he began to celebrate too soon. It was midday, they had just resumed walking after breaking for lunch when they became gradually aware of a sudden darkening of their surroundings. There hadn’t been a cloud in the sky a moment ago, and now it was grey, as if there would soon be rain. Their steps slowed, and they looked around at a sudden rising fog. Damen and Laurent exchanged a look and then stopped completely. 

Damen swore once and succinctly, “Shit.” 

There was barely time for that word to leave Damen’s mouth before they heard the screaming. 

A woman’s voice, high and strangled. Damen and Laurent both tensed, but they didn’t move. Another scream, this time deeper, but just as agonized, a man’s voice. Laurent and Damen drew their swords at almost the exact same time. It was hard to tell which direction the voices were coming from, Damen guessed they might be coming from his left. A brief pause in the cries that echoed around them, and then another voice rose out of the dense fog. This one was the highest pitched of all, it sounded like it was being torn from the throat of a very young child. 

There was one second in which Damen became aware of the fact that Laurent had gone rigid, and felt him tense to run, but by then it was too late. Laurent moved all at once and too quickly for Damen to stop him, when he reached out, the tips of his fingers just barely grazed the fabric of Laurent’s sleeve. He was swallowed up by the fog in seconds, and Damen swore again, louder this time. 

His logical mind made him hesitate for a fraction of a second, but then Damen tore after Laurent. 

The cries came and went in bursts, still in the voice of a child, but they were cut off abruptly in a way that was wholly unnatural. Everything in Damen told him it was a mistake to run toward the noise, and even if his senses weren’t telling him this, Damen already knew better. The trap was so obvious Damen almost didn’t understand how Laurent had fallen for it, but that was unfair of him. The thing that was crying out in voices of distress was almost impossible to ignore. In fact, Damen didn’t know how it hadn’t affected him too, despite the fact that he already had a strong suspicion of what it was. 

Damen had been running for at least a minute in dense fog that gave him no clues about which direction he was heading in before it suddenly began to thin. He could see the grass under his feet now, make out trees that didn’t seem to suddenly appear before his face, and when he slowed he saw -- “Laurent!”

The relief in Damen’s voice was audible, and the elf turned to look at him. Laurent looked unsure and bewildered, when he looked at Damen there was a flicker of his same relief on Laurent’s face. 

Laurent walked over to him, and stopped just in front of Damen. Damen felt the hair on his arms rise, as if the temperature had suddenly dropped. “I -- I don’t know why I ran.” Laurent said.

“It’s understandable,” Damen said, gently. 

Bright blue eyes looked directly at him. “You came for me.”

Damen felt a faint prickle at the back of his neck, but he hardly noticed it, “You knew I would.”

Laurent gazed at him unblinking, “Did I?” He said, and then reached out to touch Damen’s arm. “Thank you.”

Laurent’s gaze was intense, Damen was trapped in it, and before he realized it, Damen was leaning down. He felt the warmth of Laurent’s hand on his arm seep into his body. Despite the drop in temperature, Damen was burning hot, feverish, his head swam. 

Laurent’s face was very close, his mouth was curved slightly upward, his lips so pink. He watched them twist into a smile. 

Like a jolt of electricity, that smile jerked Damen back. He reeled, almost stumbling as he backed away. Laurent’s hand gone, Damen could think properly. He blinked hard once and shook his head, like he could shake his thoughts into proper order if he just did it hard enough. 

Damen looked at the person in front of him. Laurent was looking at him in surprise, his hand still outstretched toward Damen, blue eyes wide. 

“Who --” Began Damen, and then corrected himself, “ _ What _ are you?”

For a second, the thing that was not Laurent’s expression didn’t change, and then it smiled again, and Damen felt his fight or flight instinct intensify. 

“Laurent,” it said simply, and it sounded like Laurent. “Am I not what you wanted? Why fight, you can have me.”

“And then?” Damen asked, “I suppose  _ you’ll _ have  _ me _ ?”

The smile widened, “Don’t you think that’s fair? You can do what you like with this body, and in exchange --”

“You’ll devour me.” Damen said flatly. 

Not-Laurent laughed, it was an unpleasant sound, mostly because it sounded nothing like Laurent’s voice, and the dissonance between that sound and Laurent’s appearance was disturbing. “Not all at once.”

Damen pushed down the repulsion that came at those words, and swiftly drew off his pack, letting it drop to the floor. He was dealing with some kind of Specter, Damen had heard stories of men wandering for days in forests before they encountered the figure of someone they dropped their guard for, and were quite literally, consumed. It was unsurprising to him that he faced one now, but after only a few minutes? He thought Specters enjoyed playing with their food more. 

“Where is Laurent?” Damen asked bluntly. 

The Specter just smiled. “Not this figure, hm? Then maybe --” 

Damen felt as if the earth under him was suddenly tilting, in the time it took for him to regain his balance, he was no longer looking at a likeness of Laurent, but the figure was just as beautiful. Long blonde hair, a high classical forehead, piercing blue eyes, he was looking at the likeness of Jokaste. 

“That won’t work this time, monster.” Damen said, “Tell me where he is.”

Not-Jokaste opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of a cry of pain. Damen’s head jerked to the side. That was Laurent’s voice. He didn’t even think about whether or not this was part of the trap. It could be, maybe this was the way the Specter would toy with him, maybe there was more than one, but Damen was losing his patience. He gripped the sword in his hand and charged forward. As he ran, he pulled a dagger from his belt and threw it. The Specter moved, but it went directly into the path of the iron dagger that sank into its body, exactly where it’s heart would be. 

It cried out, the sound high and unnatural, still charging, Damen swept his sword in a clean arc and severed the head from the body. The sound cut off and the thing dropped to the floor. The form of Jokaste did not melt away, but dark blood poured from its wounds. The dagger in its body had melted into useless lump of metal. 

Damen took a moment to look down at the lifeless body that was not human. Specter’s did not change back into their original forms even in death, and so no one living knew what their true forms were. 

There was another sound, a gasp of pain in Laurent’s voice, and Damen took off toward it without a second thought. 

He didn’t have to go far to find its source. A few quick strides brought him to a sudden clearing like the one Damen had just been in. The fog wasn’t as dense here, and Damen caught a flash of bright hair. 

There was Laurent, back to him, sword out, and he did not turn even when Damen made his way noisily into the clearing, and he had good reason not to. Laurent was engaged in fighting a chimera. 

Damen had never seen one in real life, he had only ever seen their likeness in books, and heard them described in stories. Neither of which had prepared him for the sheer terror their presence inspired. It was easily twice as big as Laurent, with the heads of a lion, a goat, and a thick coiling serpent for a tail. None of these animals were like any Damen had seen. The Lion was all black, with fur that all but hid glowing red eyes, and fangs that didn’t allow its mouth to properly close. The goat by contrast was pure white, and had fur that seemed to crackle with electricity. The snake seemed to be plated with metal rather than scales, it shone grey like fine steel. 

All three heads turned to Damen when he ran to Laurent’s side. “Laurent,” Damen couldn’t help but say. Laurent didn’t turn to look at him, but nodded his head ever so slightly, he didn’t take his eyes off the creature. Damen noticed Laurent’s shoulder was injured, it looked like a burn, his clothes there were singed ash black. Damen was concerned, but also deeply impressed, he didn’t know anyone who had managed to hold their own against a chimera for any amount of time. 

“Be careful of the snake head,” Laurent said, as the creature began to circle them. They moved with it, refusing to let it take their backs. “It strikes when you’re engaged with the other heads.”

Damen nodded. He knew a single bite from that head would mean death. He adjusted his grip on his sword and braced himself. The Chimera swiped at them, paws with claws like knives, Damen could hear the sound of the claw slicing through the air, it moved fast for something so big. 

As he dodged he tried to think of the stories he had heard about chimeras, how did heroes in the legends defeat them? 

Another swipe to Damen’s right, he dodged, and then dropped to the ground narrowly avoiding the snake head wiping out. He heard the sound of metal on metal and realized Laurent had struck out, but his sword had only bounced off the snake’s scales. No, that was useless, the whole Chimera would be covered in fur and scales like the purest steel. In the stories only enchanted or blessed swords did any damage, but wasn’t there another way -- ?

“Fire!” Damen exclaimed as he jumped up, and then dodged out of the way as the Chimera charged. It ran right between them, forcing Laurent and Damen apart. In this new spot Damen’s foot came into contact with something, he dared to glance quickly down. It was Laurent’s pack, open, its contents spilling onto the wet grass. There was Laurent’s flint, among packs of food and first aid supplies. Laurent had probably tried to use it himself, maybe the attempt was even how he had gotten that burn on his shoulder, though Damen still didn’t know  _ how  _ it had happened, and that seemed like a salient detail for someone trying to fight the same monster. 

He could just make out flashes of Laurent’s hair from the other side of the Chimera. It’s bulk blocked him almost completely from sight, and when it turned the two beast heads faced Damen, which left Laurent dealing with the serpent. The Chimera grumbled, and then the lion’s mouth opened, and a sound like a women’s agonized cry came from its maw. Damen felt all the hair on his body stand on end. Ice cold fear shivered down his spine. He gripped his sword tighter, and gritted his teeth. He was a prince -- no, a King. His ancestors themselves had been heroes, there was a story that told of one of them facing a Chimera and defeating it, if it was possible for her than Damen could as well. He just needed to get the flint. 

Damen glanced down again, even if he managed to grab the flint, there was no way he would have time to strike it, let alone catch it to anything. At least, not without help. 

“Laurent!” He called over another wail in the woman’s voice. He thrust his sword into his belt and bellowed, “Catch!” Damen swiped up the flint, and used his momentum to roll toward the creature. He felt a sharp pain across his back, but he ignored it, coming out of the roll he did two things at once. With one hand he tossed the flint through the legs of the Chimera toward Laurent’s feet on the other side, and with the other he grabbed a fistful of something he carried on his belt. He didn’t have much of it, so he needed to be close for it to cause any damage. 

He felt the tiny grains slip through his fingers as he drew back his hand, and threw salt into the mouth of the lion head a foot from his face. 

All three heads recoiled in pain and the cries of man, woman, and child went up like a chorus from hell. Damen scrambled to his feet and drew his sword again, he could see Laurent, still on the other side of the creature, drawing back from it too. He thought about running to him, to make sure he had the flint, but suddenly the Chimera stopped recoiling, and all three heads fixed on Damen. There was no time, he had to hope Laurent was taking care of the fire, all Damen could do now was buy Laurent time. 

Damen dodged another swipe of the Chimera’s massive paw, his back stung, but he ignored it. When the snake darted toward him, it spit fire, a bright blue flame that singed Damen’s hair as he ducked.  _ That explains the burn _ , he thought, as he threw himself to the side, and then rolled, once, twice, feeling the Chimera’s paws land in the spaces he had just occupied. 

Although Damen was strong, highly skilled, and had incredible stamina, this was not something he could do forever. He was injured, and although he could ignore it for now, eventually the wound on his back was going to take a toll. Already Damen could feel it costing him precious seconds as the pain made him fight his instinct to stop moving and aggravating the wound. 

The chimera grumbled again, but this time the sound was deeper, it sounded more like a rumble. It was like the sound of thunder, but not far off and distant, like when a storm hit, it was close, as if Damen were in the middle of a storm cloud. He heard it again, and felt the hair on his arms rise. There was a charge in the air, like the moment before lightning struck. 

Damen swore again and watched as the chimera turned so the goat head faced him directly. There was the sound of thunder, and Damen heard a high pitched crackling sound, when suddenly the Chimera recoiled, and opened all threes mouths in another monstrous shriek. 

There, on the other side of this massive beast, Laurent had managed to construct a makeshift torch. He had stripped the shirt off his back, wrapped it around an old branch, and caught the shirt aflame. It burned bright as Laurent brandished it along with his sword at the creature. Damen had never seen a more beautiful sight. Laurent looked like a young god, golden, and radiating power. Not even the wound on his shoulder could diminish him, if anything it lent him a noble air, a god who understood pain. 

Part of the chimera’s body was gently smoking, a small flame burning its furred body. The creature screamed in pain, and backed away as Laurent advanced. Damen watched as the fire that had caught on the creature grew, and when it faltered to cry out in pain, Laurent darted forward, and caught the torch against another part of the chimera’s body. The cries went up in pitch, and the sound made Damen cover his ears in an attempt to block out the almost painful shriek. 

Laurent did not stop. As the chimera attempted to fend him off, Laurent ducked and weaved, striking out as he did, so that soon the chimera’s whole body was aflame. 

The cries intensified, and Laurent stopped pursuing it, instead he began to back away as the fire rose to engulf the entirety of the creature, heads and all. Laurent made his way over to Damen slowly, not looking away from the creature, torch and sword still out in front of him. 

Seeing the Chimera burn wasn’t like watching an animal burn, it was like seeing wax melt. Bits of skin suddenly dripping down and falling into charred hunks on the ground, the Chimera melted down more than it burned. Its agonized cries didn’t stop until all three heads burned black. 

Neither Damen no Laurent made a move to go until there was nothing left of the creature but a pile of black matter. Its remains gently smouldered, but the fire was mostly gone. Still, they waited another minute for even that to die down before sheathing their swords. Laurent cautiously stepped toward his fallen things. 

Wordlessly, he handed Damen the torch, which he obediently took, and watched as Laurent gathered his things. About half of his things were savagable, and the rest Laurent left in the grass. When he straightened, Damen realized the fog had lifted. Turning slowly, he could see light through the trees behind him, they were close to the edge of the forest. 

Laurent shouldered his pack, “Come on,” he said, the first words they had spoken since Damen had bidden him to catch the flint, “We should go.”

Damen nodded wordlessly, and they made their way out of the woods. 

Only a minute later they were under the clear blue sky again. It was just past midday, although it had felt like hours since they had stopped for their noonday meal. Damen fought the urge to glance back toward the wood as they cleared its trees and walked determinedly forward. They were closer than he had realized to the border of Akielos, he could just make out a village in the distance. 

“Wait,” Laurent said, as Damen turned to walk toward the village. Laurent gestured to a small stream that wound out from the forest and flowed a few paces to their right. He scooped some water from it and put out the torch, and then he gestured Damen to the biggest rock by the stream. 

Damen looked down at the rock and then at Laurent. “What?”

Laurent rolled his beautiful blue eyes heavenward in clear exasperation. “You’re injured,” he said by way of explanation. When Damen still didn’t move, Laurent just said, “Sit.” And then added, almost reluctantly. “Please.”

It was the ‘please’ that did it. Damen sat. 

He was dressed in Verisian riding leathers, and it took a moment of combined effort for Damen and Laurent to unlace him and then divest Damen of his ruined shirt. Laurent cupped his hands in the stream and poured cold water over Damen’s wounds. Damen suppressed a shiver. 

“How bad is it?” Damen asked after a moment. He felt more water slide down his back and soak the seat of his pants. 

“It will scar,” Laurent said, not unkindly. His touch wasn’t cold and impersonal the way Damen had thought it would be, Laurent was careful with him, gentle. Damen heard the sound of tearing cloth, and watched as Laurent tore the hem of a pant leg and used it to clean the wound. “You’re lucky it didn’t go any deeper,” Damen felt Laurent’s fingers just graze the tender skin by a slash. “Any closer and those claws would have opened you up completely.”

“I have terribly good luck,” said Damen thinking of Laurent’s fearless charge toward the chimera, “Except when I don’t.” He thought of the Specter taking the form of Jokaste, who had betrayed him. 

Laurent made Damen raise his arms so he could bandage him. Since the bandages had to go around his chest, Laurent had to pass them from hand to hand, so it was almost like an embrace as he wrapped up the wound. 

If Laurent had been facing him it probably would have been harder to say, but he was at Damen’s back, working with gentle efficiency, so Damen said it. “You saved my life. Thank you.”

Laurent’s movements faltered, for just a moment, and then he was working again. “You saved my life first.” Laurent said, “Besides, if you hadn’t managed to get me the flint and distract that thing, we’d both be dead.” A slight pause. “I still owe you.” 

Damen sighed a little. He felt Laurent tug on the bandages as he tied them off and tucked the ends in. “You don’t owe me anything.”

He felt movement at his back, and suddenly Laurent was crouching down in front of him. Before today Laurent had never touched him, and he had certainly never been this close. 

“What do you want from me?” Laurent asked without preamble.

Surprised by the question, Damen answered with startled honesty. “Nothing.” He said. “You don’t need to give me anything.”

They looked at each other. Damen could tell Laurent was looking for something in his expression, but Damen wasn’t sure what. Was he trying to catch Damen in a lie? But Damen had said from the beginning he didn’t need a life debt from Laurent, it was he who had insisted on it. 

Another moment passed, Damen admired the thick frame of long blonde lashes around Laurent’s eyes. He had never met an elf before, he would have thought him human if not for the obvious taper of the ears that poked through his blonde hair. But, Laurent was a person like any other, he thought and felt, and exercised free will, that’s what made him so wonderful, and such a pain. 

There was a moment where Damen thought Laurent might smile, but he looked away and stood instead. “Come on,” Laurent picked up his things and pointed to the horizon. “If we’re quick, we should make it to that village by nightfall.” 

Damen stood too. They didn’t have any extra clothing they could use, and Damen felt a little guilty seeing Laurent walk around with so much of his clothing missing. He picked up his own damaged leather vest, torn, but with very little blood staining it, and offered it to him. “It’s better than nothing,” Damen said. 

Now Laurent did smile. “I’ll look like a child playing dress up in your clothes.” But, he accepted, putting his things down and slipping on the vest. He tied it up quickly, with a deftness that made Damen dizzy, and then they set off once more. Damen kept stealing glances at Laurent as they went. The vest was big on him, but not in a bad way. Though by all accounts he should look ridiculous, nothing seemed to diminish his beauty. 

“Have you ever seen anything like that before?” Damen asked as they walked. 

“No,” Laurent said, “but my brother fought one once.” 

Damen was instantly all ears. “What happened?”

“It was years ago, they left with twenty elves and came back with five.” Laurent had never spoken to Damen apart from the odd word or two, hearing him form full sentences was novel, and Damen decided he quite liked Laurent’s voice. There was something else happening too, Laurent’s aspect had changed when he spoke about his brother. “He told me he had never been more afraid of anything in his life. He said the fear of facing that monster was like staring into a void, feeling it pull everything from him so that all that was left was his own mortality.” Laurent paused, he was looking off into the distance, and Damen had the impression he wasn’t really looking at anything. The description of what it was like to face that monster was as eloquent as it was accurate. “So many of his best soldiers were cut down, Auguste came back with his hair shorn so short,” Laurent touched his shoulders.

“How did they defeat it?” Damen asked when Laurent paused and didn’t seem as if he would continue.

He held onto the straps of his pack, “Auguste threw a flash bomb at it, he said it seemed startled more than anything, it bought them time to run, he never thought they had actually defeated it.” Laurent paused, then added, “Auguste never forgave himself for not doing more to save his men, for running, but I was always glad. I had my brother back.” Laurent gave Damen a sideways look. “You know, you remind me of him.”

“I do?”

“Yes.”

Laurent didn’t elaborate, and though Damen wanted very much to know what he meant by that, he was almost too afraid to ask. It felt like the answer would mean something, and Damen wasn’t sure how he would handle whatever the consequences of what it was in that moment. 

So, they continued on, walking mostly in silence, with the difference that now they were walking side by side. 

“Do you think we should have tried to bring the remains with us?” Damen asked after a long while. 

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but it would probably be good for something.”

“And how would you have brought that heap along with us?” Laurent raised his pale eyebrows. “It was too much for even your ridiculous muscles.”

“My muscles aren’t ridiculous.”

“Everything about you is ridiculous.”

Damen felt as though he should be offended, but he wasn’t, he was smiling. 

They stopped only once just long enough to drink some water, and then kept going. Damen’s back was sore, and it stung with his movements, but he ignored it. When they got to the village he could find some medicine, and he could finally rest. 

When they did arrive it was full night. They were both worn out physically, but the greater toll was their mental exhaustion. Fighting monsters like that wasn’t something a person could just shake off. 

They were actually in a sizable town, and while it wasn’t anything fancy, it did boast a modest inn. Damen stepped through the threshold with immense relief. He talked to the innkeeper, ignoring the man’s look of confusion at the state of utter dishevelment both Damen and Laurent were in, and acted like everything was perfectly normal. Damen found there was just one room available, it would have to do. 

While Damen spoke to the innkeeper about arrangements and prices, Laurent had silently slipped away, he glanced around the common room but didn’t see him anywhere. Damen frowned. 

“If you see my companion, would you please direct him to our room?”

“Of course, sir.”

Damen hadn’t seen Laurent leave, he had no idea where he might have gone, and wasn’t sure where he might look for him. He hesitated,  _ should _ he look for Laurent? What if he had finally decided to leave, wasn’t that what Damen had wanted? He tried not to think about that as he made his way up to his room. 

Thankfully, the one room available, the best and most expensive room, contained its own bathing room, and Damen went straight to it. The food he had ordered was sent up as Damen sat soaking in the tub. He heard the soft knock on the door and called for server to enter. Damen heard the sound of footsteps, the soft clatter of a tray placed on wood, and then the sound of the door being closed. Then, surprisingly, more footsteps. 

Damen listened hard, but the footsteps did not sound hesitant, and whoever made them was making no effort to hide their presence. 

“Laurent?”

He heard footsteps come closer, stop just at the entrance to the bathing room. “Yes?”

Damen didn’t let himself examine the rush of feelings that rose up in him at the sound of Laurent’s voice. “Nothing,” said Damen, “Never mind.”

The footsteps retreated, and Damen closed his eyes. 

When he was done, Damen realized he had nothing but ruined clothing to change into. He had been so focused on food and a bath he had forgotten about medicine and clothing. “Damn,” he muttered. He could either ask Laurent to go and ask the innkeeper for him, or he could go himself. The latter was far more likely, Damen wasn’t looking forward to traipsing through the inn in nothing but a towel. 

He emerged into the bedroom a little sheepishly not eager to explain this to Laurent who was most certainly going to question him. 

Damen found Laurent sitting by the fire. He had piled half the bedding onto the floor and set it by the fireplace. Spread out beside him in the small nest he had made were fresh bandages, clean clothing, and a small jar of something Damen realized Laurent had made himself. On the mantle of the fireplace sat a mortar and pestle that still had bits of something green and leafy in it. 

Laurent turned to look at him, he very pointedly looked down at Damen’s towel and then up at his face, he raised his eyebrows. Absurdly, Damen blushed. 

Laurent got up, taking a set of fresh clothes with him, his movements calm and graceful. “I think I managed to find something that will fit you.” He gestured to the clothing still on the bedding. “If not, the innkeeper says he has a big enough horse blanket you may use until we can go into town in the morning.” Laurent walked by him, not waiting for Damen to reply. Damen watched him disappear into the bathing room. 

Damen’s hair dripped water down his neck and along his back as he stood there staring after Laurent. He made himself turn and pick up the clothing. He held them out and regarded them seriously, they would  _ just _ fit. 

He put on the trousers, but not the shirt. He had saved himself from asking Laurent to fetch him anything, but he was still going to have to ask him for help with his back. The platter of food Laurent had brought up sat on a small table by the door, Damen picked it up and brought it by the fire. He realized Laurent had carefully eaten half of everything. For some reason, Damen found this endearing. He ate slowly, and tried to keep his mind blank as he stared into the flame. 

It wasn’t long before Laurent came out of the bath. Damen didn’t turn to look at him, he fought that urge, instead he waited. 

“Do you prefer to sleep here?” Laurent asked.

“Anywhere is fine.”

A slight pause, and then Damen felt the bedding sink where Laurent had sat on it behind him. 

“I made -- This should help.” Laurent said, and Damen heard the sound of a lid being unscrewed. There was the smell of mint and -- was that camomile? Laurent didn’t ask for permission to tend to him, but Damen found he didn’t mind, the answer would have been yes anyway. 

Damen had taken off the bandages Laurent had put on him before the bath, his wounds stung when exposed to open air. Now he felt Laurent’s slim fingers on his back, the sensation of the salve on the wounds was surprisingly pleasant. He felt the affects almost instantly, it cooled the irritated heat of the gashes cut into his skin and the throbbing pain receded to a dull ache. It was so soothing Damen found he had dropped his head forward, eyes closed, and was breathing much more deeply. The smell was nice too.

“You made this?” Damen asked quietly, trying not to break the peace of the moment. 

Laurent’s fingers finished with one gash and started on another, “Yes.” 

“You didn’t have to.”

Damen could almost feel Laurent roll his eyes before he said, “You could just say, ‘Thank you.’”

“Thank you.” 

A brief pause. “You’re welcome.”

Damen smiled. 

He let Laurent finish his ministrations in silence. Damen let himself enjoy the sensation of being tended to, it wasn’t that he was unused to it, he was royalty, but it felt as if it  _ meant _ something coming from Laurent. 

When Laurent was done with the salve he began to bandage Damen again. Lifting his arms Damen sat still for Laurent. He felt the warmth of him at his back and couldn’t stop seeing him confronting the chimera like a hero from legend. 

Finished with his task Damen felt Laurent stand, and Damen stretched a little, tentatively testing the bandages. They fit snuggly, but didn’t really restrict his movement. Damen didn’t feel as sore as he had either, and the pain was now soothed by a blessed coolness from the salve. He turned to smile at Laurent, “Thank you,” he said again, with all the sincerity of a body well tended. “I suppose we can go into town first thing, and then leave as soon as we’re able.”

Laurent stood, half turned, at a small table by the window, a pitcher of water and two glasses sat on it as well as various other first aid supplies that seemed newly acquired. Laurent was pouring himself a glass of water but paused with the cup at his lips to say calmly, “No.”

Damen blinked at him, “No?”

“No,” Laurent agreed. “You need time to heal. With this,” Laurent gestured to the small jar of salve he had been using, “You should be able to travel again in about four days.”

“I’m able to travel now.” Damen protested. “I’m fine, I can hardly feel it.”

Now Laurent did turn to look at him. He leveled his cool blue gaze on Damen, the one that had made Damen think his touch would be cool too. “You need to be in a condition to fight, which you are not now. Any fight you do engage in will leave you worse, and may cause irreparable damage. Considering this, don’t you think it more prudent to simply wait? Or do you not care if this proves to be your downfall when you finally face your brother?”

It felt as though Laurent was throwing worst case scenarios at him, but the idea of facing Kastor with an obvious weakness wasn’t pleasant, to say the least. Damen half regretted telling Laurent everything that was happening. But, in those early days, lost, and heart sick from betrayal, it had all poured out of him. And, Laurent had been a captive audience, Damen had thought he might not have even paid attention to anything Damen was saying, but apparently he was wrong. 

“I thought you wouldn’t care about what happens to me.”

Laurent regarded him steadily for a moment, tilting his head slightly to the side, his expression was unreadable. “Fine,” he said shrugging, “Don’t listen to me. Do what you want.” And with that Laurent crossed the room to the bed, and turned his back on Damen. 

Damen was left to do exactly that, whatever he wanted, but he found he wasn’t so sure what that might be. 

  
  


In the morning Laurent was not in the room. Every day they had traveled together Laurent had been up first. Damen was a little sorry he had never gotten to see Laurent first thing in the morning, would he be squinty-eyed and grougy? The idea seemed ridiculously incongruous with Laurent’s usual demeanor, but it amused Damen to imagine it. 

He got up a little stiffly, the soothing effects of the salve had worn off and Damen’s back radiated pain again. Damen began to get ready for the day and wondered if he would have to look for Laurent, or if he would suddenly appear again as he was wont to do. 

Just as Damen was pulling his boots on Laurent reappeared. He was fully dressed and seemed as if he had already been up for some time. “The innkeeper told me of a few places we can go and get resupplied.” He tossed Damen an apricot which he caught on reflex. “Hurry up and turn around so I can fix your bandages.” 

They hadn’t come loose overnight, and when Damen pointed this out Laurent just looked at him. So, Damen acquiesced. They did the whole thing over again, and although Damen had protested, it did feel good to have the wounds tended to. Damen ate the apricot in silence and held on to the pit as he put on his clean shirt. His movements felt easier now, less painful, and it must have shown because Laurent looked almost smug. Damen had the urge to bump him with his hip, and he had to remind himself not to. 

Breakfast at the inn was standard fare, but still better than what they had been eating while they were traveling, the bread was fresh, and so was the cheese, and that wasn’t nothing. When they had finished they went out into town. Laurent led him straight to the stable where they could purchase horses. He was an excellent haggler, he spoke with absolute authority and didn’t give an inch when the stablehand tried to argue. In the end they got their horses for a more than reasonable price, with saddles, and a bag of feed for each horse thrown in. Damen wanted to take Laurent to the markets of Ios and watch him barter for honey cakes from the local merchant wives and see who got the final word in. 

After that they went to see about getting another set of clothes, ingredients Laurent needed to make the salve, and a few other things they needed but had been doing without. It was surprisingly fun to simply run errands with Laurent. Now that he was talking to Damen, acknowledging his presence, Damen found he had a wry sense of humour, and wit so sharp he could tear anyone to pieces with his words alone. And, when he caught a drunk man trying to drag a young girl by the wrist into an alley later that evening, Laurent didn’t hesitate to walk calmly over and punch him in the face. Damen had watched him in awe, the way he planted his feet, straightened his stance, and then pulled back his arm to put the full weight of his body into the hit, dropping the man instantly. He had refused the girls thanks, and nodded when she said she was alright, then reported the man to local authorities. 

Laurent gave the impression of coolness, but he was not a cold person. 

The following day was much the same, Laurent tended to Damen’s wounds, and then they went out to run errands. There wasn’t much else they could do. Damen hadn’t actually agreed to stay, but he hadn’t brought up leaving again, and so his silence had done his talking. 

Laurent had picked up a deck of cards somewhere, and that night, after Laurent had put fresh salve and bandages on Damen, they sat on Damen’s makeshift bed by the fire and played cards. Damen threw down his winning hand and Laurent swore so colourfully Damen could only stare at him. It was jarring to see someone so beautiful curse like that, but Damen supposed he already knew Laurent wasn’t a delicate flower, and really, he shouldn’t be surprised. When he had first met Laurent, he had been swearing viciously at a gang of bandits that had cornered him. 

Damen picked up the cards and shuffled them when Laurent demanded they play again, and while he did he considered the way they had met. Damen had still been reeling from hurt and loss, and upon finding those bandits corning a lone rider on horseback, Damen found he suddenly had an outlet for his emotions. He had jumped into the fray, throwing men down like they were nothing more than training mannequins. One of them managed to shoot at the horse Laurent was sitting on, and it tripped in its haste to back away, causing both horse and rider to go down. Damen remembered that moment of concern, and then surprise to see the way the rider had gone down like they knew how to take a fall. And, when Laurent had a crossbow aimed at him pointblank, Damen had thrown his sword at the bandit on instinct. 

Damen dealt the cards again and watched as Laurent collected them in slim-fingered pale hands. “Let’s place bets this time.” Damen found himself saying.

Laurent looked up from his cards. He raised one blonde eyebrow, “I’m not going to suck your cock, so don’t bother asking.”

Damen felt his face flush, he kept his gaze level, and said evenly. “I wasn’t going to.” He paused, and considered for a second before finally saying, “Read to me.” 

“What?”

“You bought a book when we went out, didn’t you? Read some of it to me. I have trouble sleeping, I think that might help.”

Laurent leaned back slightly, he looked as if he was waiting for Damen to say he was joking. “Shall I tuck you in as well? Stroke your hair?”

“Only if you want to.”

Laurent shook his head, but his reply was, “And, if I win?”

“I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Anything?” 

Damen nodded.

They were gazing at each other, Laurent looked away first. “Fine.” He said. And, they played. 

The game was common to both their countries, but the rules varied. The first hand they played they had to call a restart when they realized they were disagreeing on the value of certain cards. When they played again, they interrupted the game to bicker about whether a certain move was legal or not. On the third time, they were finally playing with well established rules, and Damen realized they were both seriously trying to win. They threw down card after card, and carefully considered before picking up more. There was no friendly banter this time, they played in tense silence, both of them trying to keep their heads in the game. 

It was Laurent who straightened up before he threw down his hand triumphantly. Damen looked down at the cards, and then back up at Laurent. “Best two our of three?” He tried.

“No.”

Well, that was fair. 

Laurent gathered the cards, taking his time straightening and putting them away, Damen watched him, waiting. When the cards were gone they sat in a somewhat strained silence. Just when Damen was about to prompt him, Laurent finally looked up to meet Damen’s gaze. 

“Close your eyes,” he said, “And, don’t move.”

Damen did as he was bid. They sat not very far apart on Damen’s bedding, legs crossed and facing each other. Damen tried to think of a reason Laurent had asked this of him. What was he trying to do? He felt the shift of the bedding as Laurent moved, he felt his presence come closer. 

Some kind of prank, maybe? Was he going to put something in his hair? Throw something in his face? Damen couldn’t think of a logical reason for this request of Laurent’s. 

He sat perfectly still, gradually becoming overly aware of his breathing, and his hands clasped tightly in his lap. The seconds ticked by and Laurent, while close, wasn’t moving. Damen wanted very badly to open his eyes, but he fought the impulse and tried not to think about what was happening. If he thought about it too much this reminded him of his days training with his men in the barracks, finding any excuse to get close to someone, to --

Damen felt more than heard Laurent take a deep breath, he pushed down the instinct to turn his head to the sound. 

Although Damen had been desperately trying not to make assumptions, he had tried to find different explanations, because ultimately he already knew, it still came as a surprise to feel Laurent’s mouth press softly to his own. 

The kiss was just a soft brush of lips, chaste, and so sweet it made Damen’s heart ache. 

He felt Laurent withdraw after that, and opened his eyes without thinking. Laurent sat at the very edge of the bedding now, his legs were drawn up, he was flushed so brilliantly, his pale skin showing colour effortlessly, and he stared at Damen wide-eyed, like he too was surprised. 

They just looked at each other for a moment. Then, Laurent moved abruptly, looking away from Damen, and without a word walked out the door. 

It felt as if Laurent was always doing this. He did something to shake Damen, and then simply left. Damen sat on the bedding looked at the closed door, and he tried to decide what to do. Should he go after him? Is that what Laurent wanted? But, if Laurent wanted space, then wasn’t it better that Damen let him have it? Damen tried to imagine what would happen if he went now, it felt likely that Laurent would just bitch at him, call him names and push him away. Would he do that, or would he kiss Damen again? In his mind he could almost see Laurent turning to him instead with all the sweetness of that kiss, letting Damen tilt his face up, and put his arms around him, let him deepen the kiss.

Damen stared at the door so hard he could have bored holes into it. In the end he didn’t go after Laurent, if he had changed his mind about Damen, then Damen wanted to give him an easy way out. If he went now, he might inadvertently pressure Laurent, although it was probably impossible to make Laurent do anything he didn’t already want to do, still, if Laurent came to him, Damen wanted it to be his choice. So, reluctantly, he got ready for bed, and tried to sleep. 

Some time later, Damen still awake, feeling tiredness behind his eyes, he heard Laurent come back. 

  
  
  


The next day, Laurent acted as if nothing had happened. Damen hadn’t been sure what would change now, but it turned out his worry was for nothing, because things were exactly the same. Laurent didn’t shy away from him either, or ignore Damen, he met his gaze steadily, and gave absolutely no sign that anything had happened last night. Damen was half convinced that he had dreamt it all. 

At dinner that evening the innkeeper brought them a bottle of wine he had been telling Damen about the day before. 

“The bouquet is wonderful, I feel sure you’ll enjoy it. Oh, no, please, it’s on me.”

“Thank you,” Damen said, smiling warmly at the innkeeper who nodded and turned hastily away. 

“If you do that much more he is going to melt into the floor,” Laurent said dryly, regarding Damen over his glass of water. 

Damen chose to ignore the comment and instead offered him some of the wine. Laurent shook his head, and so Damen enjoyed the bottle alone. It wasn’t the best he had ever had, but it wasn’t bad, rather good even; for a modest inn. The innkeeper, came by from time to time to check up on them, “To flirt with you,” Laurent had corrected, and without realizing it Damen had drank most of the wine. 

It wasn’t that Damen wasn’t used to drinking, he just usually had more water in between glasses, which he had not done this time. He was probably drinking more to deal with the fact that the wine reminded him of his brother, and every time that thought came into his head he took another drink, it was a vicious cycle. 

Back in their room after dinner Damen lay splayed out on his bed, eyes closed. He hadn’t let himself relive the incidents that had brought him here since they had happened, but it was easier to remember them with the pleasant buzz of alcohol running through him.

He remembered Kastor insisting he not only take some of his best personal guard, but a ‘special’ bottle of wine with him on his trip as envoy to Vere.  _ “I’ve been saving this just for you.”  _ He remembered all of Kastor’s men politely declining to try it. He remembered hearing the complaints of the men who felt ill before falling into their beds, and Damen trying to tune them out to sleep his headache off. The only reason Damen hadn’t died of poisoning like his men was because he had been nursing a headache all day the day they decided to try Kastor’s spirits. He had told Laurent he was lucky, and that was true, because he had been saved again by sheer dumb luck that day when he had suddenly woken in the middle of the night and gotten up to relieve himself. Blurry-eyed and still with an aching head Damen heard the muttering of the men Kastor had sent with him. 

_ “Where has he gone?” _

_ “I don’t know.” _

_ “Do you think he knows?” _

_ “How?” _

_ “What a pain, if only he had died with his men.” _

_ “Nevermind. Find Damianos, remember what Kastor said, he can’t come back alive. Whatever it takes.” _

“Are you ill?”

Laurent’s voice brought Damen back to reality. He was looking down at him with mild concern, leaning very slightly over Damen. 

“If you’re going to be sick, I don’t recommend doing it on the bedding. If you ruin it, you’ll have to make do as I won’t be letting you share mine.” 

“I’m fine, but thank you for your concern. It’s touching.” Damen said, dryly, unconsciously matching Laurent’s tone. 

“Yes,” said Laurent dryly, “You look fine.” Then he nudged Damen with his stocking foot. “Now get up, I have to dress your wound. If you pass out you’ll have to sleep as you are. It would take the strength of ten men to lift you, and I haven’t got the time to find that many who are up to the task.”

Damen got up slowly, “I’m not much bigger than you are,” he said.

Laurent snorted, surprisingly childish as he sat down too, “That’s the alcohol skewing your perception.” 

“I’m not,” Damen insisted, “Look.” He held out an open hand, palm facing Laurent. 

When Laurent just stared at his hand, Damen wiggled his fingers and brought it slightly closer to him. The corner of Laurent’s mouth twitched. 

Slowly, Laurent held out his own hand, pressing it gently to Damen’s. 

Admittedly, it was smaller. Laurent’s fingers were slim and long, and appeared even paler next to Damen’s brown skin. They were sword calloused like Damen’s though, and Damen folded the tips of his fingers down over Laurent’s without thinking, Laurent’s fingers just passed Damen’s top knuckles. 

“What did this prove?” Laurent asked, but he didn’t take his hand away.

Damen didn’t answer, instead he brought Laurent’s hand down, and turned it over in one hand while he traced lightly over it with the other. “Do you play any instruments? Or practice any art?”

“What?”

Damen turned Laurent’s hand over again, had he ever really appreciated how lovely hands could be? 

“It just seems as if you would be good at them, you have artists hands.”

When Damen finally looked up, he saw that Laurent was staring at him. His blue eyes were wide in his face, and he looked suddenly very young to Damen. It occurred to him then he didn’t know how old Laurent was. He could be significantly older than he appeared, but that didn’t really trouble Damen at the moment. 

Laurent didn’t comment on that, instead he changed the subject entirely and asked, “After you leave here, you go to Ios to confront your brother?”

“First I go to Nikandros and ensure I’m not taken unawares again, and then yes, I confront my brother.”

Laurent nodded once, “Then I will go with you.”

Damen felt his stomach tighten, “I told you, you don’t owe me anything. You don’t have to come with me.”

“I know.”

They gazed at each other. Laurent’s hand was still in Damen’s, warm and strong, he hadn’t taken it back, and he didn’t look away from Damen. 

Slowly, carefully, Damen lifted one of his hands to Laurent’s face. He brushed back soft blonde hair, his touch lingering, and watched as Laurent closed his eyes and tilted up his face. Damen’s heart beat hard in his chest. 

This kiss was just as sweet as their first. Damen was gentle. Despite his protests, Damen was conscious of the fact that he  _ was _ bigger and stronger. He came to Laurent not as a conquer, but as a pilgrim, humbly, and reverently. 

When Damen tilted his head and pressed a fraction more firmly, Laurent’s breath hitched. 

That sound made Damen want to push Laurent down, press him firmly into the bedding. He didn’t. Instead he kissed Laurent still more tenderly, cupping his face in his hands, and caressing Laurent’s cheek with his thumb. 

It was Laurent who finally drew back. He opened his eyes slowly, and the look he gave Damen made him hot all over. His blue eyes were dark, and his lips were parted. Damen made himself withdraw his hands after one last soft touch. It was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do, but it felt important that any more come from Laurent. 

There was one second where, feeling Laurent’s nervous tension, Damen thought he might flee again, but he didn’t. He moved, rising up on his knees, extending a hand toward Damen, and then hesitated. Reading his uncertainty, carefully, Damen took that hand and placed it on his own face. Wordlessly, he gave Laurent permission to touch him. Laurent searched Damen’s expression, as if to make absolutely certain this was allowed, and Damen felt a sudden swell of tenderness for this person who could be so fierce and fearless in battle, but in the quiet of their room was so gentle and at times unsure. 

Damen withdrew his hand, pressing both of them into the bedding, bracing himself as he sat cross legged. Laurent kneeling in front of him, with his knees pressed to Damen’s shins, traced featherlight touches over him. Along Damen’s jaw, down his neck, across his collarbone, over his shoulders, and lingering on his arms. Laurent’s gaze dropped from Damen’s eyes to look at the swell of muscle he was caressing. 

Laurent spoke then, seemingly without thinking about what he was saying. “My father always told me Akielon humans were no better than beasts. Relying solely on size and brute strength, with no intelligence to speak of.” Laurent’s gaze lifted to Damen’s, “But, you’re not like that.”

Damen raised his eyebrows, choosing not to acknowledge the inherent insult, “Oh?”

“Well,” Laurent allowed, “you don’t only rely on your brute strength, you giant animal.”

“That’s funny,” Damen said dryly, “my father used to say Verisan elves were unfeeling and never had a single kind thing to say, but clearly fathers are not to be believed.” 

“I did say you weren’t unintelligent,” Laurent pointed out, his hands braced on Damen’s shoulders now.

“Yes,” said Damen, tipping his head back to keep eye contact, “A generous concession.” 

Laurent smiled, very slowly. It wasn’t dry, or smug, the way Damen thought the mood would warrant, it was small, and a little shy. Like he wasn’t used to someone matching his tone, and found that he liked it. 

“Damen,” Laurent said softly, bringing up one hand to Damen’s chin and tracing Damen’s bottom lip with his thumb. Damen was aware this was the first time Laurent had used his name. 

Damen held his breath, and watched as Laurent slowly moved. They didn’t look away from each other as Laurent lowered his head and pressed another soft kiss to Damen’s mouth. Damen watched Laurent’s eyes flutter shut, felt Laurent’s breath as a slight sigh escaped him at the contact.

The kiss was just a gentle press of lips, and Damen could feel Laurent waiting for something as it went on. Laurent was waiting for him, Damen realized, waiting for Damen to take over, but he didn’t. After a moment, when Damen did nothing to direct the kiss, Laurent seemed to take it as permission that he could. 

Tilting his head slightly, Laurent pressed just a little more firmly. 

It wasn’t the kiss of someone inexperienced, as Damen had thought might be the case when Laurent ran the first time, it seemed more as if Laurent was being careful. Careful with himself, and with Damen too. And, that was funny in a way that almost made Damen want to laugh, and at the same time made his heart throb in his chest. No one had been careful with Damen since he was a child. 

Laurent’s soft kisses were unhurried and without a purpose, it was kissing for the pure enjoyment of the kiss, and it had been some time since Damen had experienced this. Damen’s fingers curled into the bedding as Laurent slid his tongue smoothly into Damen’s mouth. 

And still, he didn’t do anything to direct the kiss, letting Laurent set the pace, and simply do what he wanted. If it was what Laurent wanted, then Damen was more than willing. 

Without realizing it, Damen reached out to hold Laurent, his arms going around his waist and pulling him down. There was just a second of resistance, and then Laurent let himself be deposited into Damen’s lap, his legs on either side of Damen’s hips. Like this they were more at a level, and Damen didn’t need to tilt his head up quite so much, though he had enjoyed the novelty of it. 

The kisses weren’t quite so chaste now, Damen could feel the way they were changing from simple touch to earnest desire. 

Breaking the kiss, Laurent slowly brought one hand down Damen’s chest. Opening his eyes, Damen found Laurent was already looking at him, neither of them looked away as Laurent’s hand ventured further downward, Damen was not about to stop him. 

Expertly, and without needing to look, Laurent undid the lacing, all the more impressive for having done it one-handed. Damen thought about saying something to that effect, but words left him when he felt the sudden heat of Laurent’s hand. Damen took an unsteady breath. 

Laurent watched Damen’s face as his hand moved. His touch was different from his kisses, where he had been soft and almost tentative, here he was bold and sure. He held Damen in his hand and there was purpose here, he was trying to drive Damen to a quick end. Damen had to put a hand over Laurent’s to slow him down. 

“Wait,” said Damen, more breathless than he had expected. “What about you, can I...?”

“Yes.”

That one word was all Damen needed to hear. He undid Laurent’s laces, Damen had to use two hands and still wasn’t as efficient as Laurent had been. And, unlike Laurent, Damen did look. Laurent was white skin and golden hair all over. 

Damen glanced back up, and found Laurent looking at him, but his gaze was decidedly lower. As if sensing it, Laurent looked up, he flushed a deep pink, almost like he was embarrassed to be caught staring. It pleased Damen more than he would admit to see Laurent react this way to him, Laurent wasn’t made of stone, although he was hard now. 

“What?” Laurent demanded, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Damen said, trying not to smile at his own dumb pun, he wouldn’t be able to explain it in a way that did not sound ridiculous. And, Damen felt ridiculous, after everything that had happened, somehow, he had found himself here, with an elf so beautiful it almost hurt Damen to look at him. Damen’s heart had been broken, and he could still feel the sharp edges of the pieces left in his chest, but there was something like happiness welling up inside him that took away the bitter sting of betrayal. “You’re beautiful.”

Laurent looked away from him, and Damen realized he was shy. 

“So are you.”

“Yes,” Damen agreed.

Laurent shot him a look, and this time Damen did laugh. He watched as Laurent’s lips twitched, he spoke with his lips brushing Damen’s as he drew closer again. “You are insufferable.”

Laurent’s kisses were like small catching fires, burning low, then gradually consuming everything, eventually they blazed as hot as an inferno. Damen felt he was in the center of that firestorm, and there was nothing left but to  _ feel _ the way it consumed him too. Everything was hot, Laurent’s mouth, his breath, his hand, and his skin. Damen’s head spun when Laurent pressed them together.

Their hands moved together, getting slick from their arousal. Damen had the urge to push Laurent, push him down, bear down on top of him, replace the heat of Laurent’s hand with his welcoming body --

Instead, Damen pushed those thoughts away. There was no denying he wanted that, but this, now, was still so good. Laurent made small breathy sounds, and his hips lifted thoughtlessly to match Damen’s rhythm. It felt too like a possible promise for the future, Damen liked the idea of slow progression, of Laurent gradually giving more of himself, as he had been doing since they first met. 

Laurent’s breath hitched, and his body tensed, Damen felt exactly one second of satisfaction for making him come before he felt Laurent’s thumb press down on the slit, and then they were both shaking with release. 

They sat breathing heavily, hands messy, for just a moment before Laurent was getting up. His usual grace wasn’t quite there as he moved, but he kept his balance, and didn’t meet Damen’s eyes as he did. Damen braced himself with one hand as he watched Laurent disappear into the bathing room. 

He sat there a little awkwardly. Did he wait? It didn’t seem like Damen had many other options. He looked around for something to clean himself off with, and then caught movement at the edge of his vision. 

Laurent had emerged, he had taken off his trousers, his shirt hanging down to just before midthigh, and he carried in his hand a small towel. He stood at the edge of the makeshift bed, and seemed to hesitate before making up his mind. Laurent knelt once again over Damen, and this time he was the one to take Damen’s hand, and then gently cleaned it off. Damen watched him do this as he remembered the way Laurent had viciously and completely verbally dressed down a man they had met the other day for almost killing his horse. 

When his hand was clean, Laurent carefully moved to the other parts of Damen that had gotten soiled. It had been hard enough to accept the fact of Laurent tending to Damen’s wounds, but this, this almost subservience was more than Damen had ever even dreamed from Laurent. 

As if reading Damen’s mind, Laurent said, “Stay there, I’ll tend to your back too.”

Damen watched him get up, and gather his things, then felt Laurent kneel behind him. 

They were silent for a long while. Damen feeling like things had shifted too quickly, but not sure how he could have slowed them down. He wanted very much to look at Laurent, see his expression. Now all he could do was feel his gentle hands on his back. 

He had caught a glimpse of his back the day before in the mirror and had been shocked to see it. It wasn’t the wounds themselves that had surprised him, although they were big ugly gashes, it was the state of healing. Damen’s wounds looked weeks not days old. He thought it was some kind of pain relieving agent in the salve Laurent was using that had been making the pain reside, but seeing how old the wounds looked, it was probably just that it had healed passed the stage of sore tenderness. There would definitely be scarring, but even that didn’t seem as if it would be half as bad as it could have been. It was literal magic Laurent was working on him. 

While Damen was lost in thought, he didn’t notice the moment Laurent’s hands stopped moving. They were still pressed to his back, not touching any of the wounds. 

“Laurent?”

Silence. 

Then, “If I asked for your help, would you give it to me?”

Without a second's hesitation, without thinking about it, Damen said, “Yes.”

He felt Laurent’s hands withdraw. Then Laurent was moving to face him again. His stockings were still on, with his long shirt just barely keeping his modesty, he looked young and vulnerable. 

Laurent’s blue eyes didn’t waver, “When you have confronted your brother, when you have finished what you set out to do, will you come help me save my kingdom?”

“Your kingdom?” Damen repeated blankly. 

Laurent smiled, just a little. “Yes,” he said. “I am Laurent, Prince of Vere.”

Damen stared. 

“I thought you hadn’t guessed.”

Damen hadn’t. He knew the Prince’s name was Laurent, but he assumed they only shared the name, it had never occurred to him that the elf he had saved was the actual Prince. 

The way Laurent carried himself, his easy arrogance, the commanding tone of his voice, it all reframed itself in Damen’s mind. 

He opened his mouth, then closed it, tried again, but was at a complete loss for words. He couldn’t believe he had almost gotten the Prince of Vere killed. 

“You were to come to my country to try and strike a peace with my brother,” Laurent said, ignoring Damen’s struggle. “At the same time your brother was betraying you, my uncle was betraying us. I left to try and find help, and then I met you.” Laurent’s gaze was intense, Damen didn’t know why he had ever associated him with ice, Laurent was blue flame. “I’m not sure I would go so far as to say it was fate, but,” Laurent shrugged one shoulder. “My brother would undoubtedly say something like that, and whatever the case, I think we can help each other.” Laurent held out his hand, “Help me, and when this is all over, I will make certain our countries are never again at war.” 

Damen was clasping his hand before he had a conscious thought of taking it. “I swear, I will do everything in my power to help you.”

Their gazes held for a long moment, he felt a little as if Laurent were again searching his face for any hint of a lie. Damen let him look. Laurent’s expression softened, and he brought their still clasped hands down to the bed between them. 

“I believe that you will.”

It hadn’t occurred to Damen that their meeting might be fate. But, as he sat across from Laurent, and held his warm hand, he wasn’t as quick to dismiss the notion as Laurent was. There were strange and unexplainable things in this world, and being fated to cross paths with someone like Laurent felt like the only rational thing in his life at the moment. Whether it was destiny, or chance, the affinity he felt for him was true, and Damen knew he would come to regret it if he didn’t follow it through. He couldn’t quite see the shape of what they had between them, but he could feel its potential, it felt vast, infinite. The way ahead would be long, dangerous, and draining, but Damen had a feeling that Laurent would not let him waver, with his bright warm presence at his side, Damen felt he could take on the world. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so, SO much to [Owensagirl](https://owensagirl.tumblr.com/) for her patience with me, and for the lovely art that inspired this work!!! She was a real pleasure to work with, and I'm so glad I got to be part of the Capri reverse bang! 
> 
> Wanna chat about these two and their feelings? You can find me on [tumblr](nightofviolet.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/snow_falls4)!!


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